Ühiskaart: balance, top-up and personalisation
How to buy the Ühiskaart, top it up, check the balance and personalise it — and why a Tallinn resident definitely needs one.
What is the Ühiskaart
The Ühiskaart is a contactless chip card used to pay for travel across the whole of Tallinn public transport — on trams, buses and trolleybuses. The card itself is not a ticket: the ticket and the money live on an account linked to the card at tallinn.pilet.ee, and the card is only the key to that account.
This distinction matters. If you lose the card, the money is not lost — a personalised card can be blocked and the account transferred to a new card. If the card is not personalised, the money on the account is gone along with the card.
Besides the card, you can also pay for travel simply with a contactless bank card or phone — in that case the validator automatically buys you an hour ticket. Discount tickets and free-travel entitlement can only be used with a personalised Ühiskaart.
The Ühiskaart in four steps
Buy a card
The Ühiskaart costs €3.00 and is sold at R-Kiosk stores, Coop and Selver checkouts, the Tallinn City Transport customer service desk and other sales points. Post offices and the Omniva online shop no longer sell the Ühiskaart as of 1 July 2026.
Personalise the card
Personalisation links the card number to your personal identification code. On tallinn.pilet.ee it is free, at a sales point it costs €1. Personalisation is required if you want to use free-travel entitlement or a discount ticket.
Top up money or buy a ticket
Log in at tallinn.pilet.ee and load money onto the card or buy a period ticket. You can do the same at a sales point, in your online bank or through your mobile operator.
Validate every time you board
Tap the card on the validator every time you board a tram, bus or trolleybus — even if you already have a valid ticket or free-travel entitlement. The validator shows the ticket validity and your balance on screen.
How to check your Ühiskaart balance
You can view your Ühiskaart balance and valid tickets in four ways:
- On your tallinn.pilet.ee account. Log in with an ID card, Mobiil-ID, Smart-ID or bank link and choose "Check tickets and balance". You will see your full purchase history and valid tickets.
- On the validator screen. When you validate the card, the validator shows the valid ticket and the balance — the balance is shown only if the amount is €50 or less.
- In the pilet.ee mobile app, if you have linked the card to your account.
- At a sales point. Every place that sells the Ühiskaart can also check the balance and top up money.
How to top up
You can top up the card without having it with you — the account is linked to the card number, not to the card chip.
- Online at tallinn.pilet.ee
The fastest way — log in and pay with a bank link. The money reaches your account instantly. - In the pilet.ee mobile app
The same account on your phone; ideal if you run out of money on the way. - At a sales point
R-Kiosk, Coop, Selver and other outlets across the city, including the airport, the Baltic Station and the bus station. - From your online bank
The payment is directed to your pilet.ee account. - Through your mobile operator
For when you have no internet to hand.
Personalisation: why and how
Personalisation links the card to your personal identification code. Without it, the Ühiskaart is just an anonymous wallet — it gives you no discounts or free travel.
Free-travel entitlement
For a Tallinn resident, a student up to age 19 and anyone aged 65 or over, free-travel entitlement is activated precisely by personalisation. The ticketing system checks your place of residence in the population register at least once a month.
Protection against loss
A personalised card can be blocked and the money on the account transferred to a new card. If you lose an anonymous card, the money is lost too.
Free online, €1 at a sales point
On tallinn.pilet.ee you can personalise the card for free by logging in with an ID card, Mobiil-ID, Smart-ID or bank link.
Personalisation can also be undone
For a personalised card the ticketing system makes queries to the population register. If you do not want that, personalisation can be removed from the account — but the discount disappears with it.
The Ühiskaart in several designs
Over the years the Ühiskaart has come in several designs, and all of them work exactly the same. The green card carries the text «Tallinn ja Harjumaa» and is valid on public transport in both Tallinn and Harju county; the newer blue card has the Tallinn design.
The design does not change how the card works: travel rights are always granted by the account linked to the card number, and the card must be validated on every boarding — whether it is green or blue.
What else works instead of a card
Contactless payment straight from the validator
Tap the front-door validator with a contactless bank card or phone — you get a 1-hour ticket for €2. Discount tickets cannot be bought this way. The same card must be validated again on every boarding.
From the pilet.ee website or app
Buy a QR ticket and validate the code on the front-door validator reader. Good for a visitor who does not want to buy a card. QR tickets are not bought back or exchanged.
RFID-enabled student card
The Estonian student card, an ISIC student or university card and the IYTC youth card are valid as proof of travel rights. An ISIC card must be activated at eduid.ee before being added to the system.
A city pass for visitors
The Tallinn Card grants travel rights for its entire validity period; the card must be validated on every boarding.
Frequently asked questions about the Ühiskaart
The easiest way is to log in at tallinn.pilet.ee and choose “Check tickets and balance”. The validator also shows the balance when you tap the card, but only if the account holds €50 or less. Every sales point can check the balance too.
Online at tallinn.pilet.ee with a bank link, in the pilet.ee mobile app, at a sales point (R-Kiosk, Coop, Selver and others), from your online bank or through your mobile operator. Money topped up online reaches your account instantly.
The card itself costs €3.00. Personalisation is free on tallinn.pilet.ee and €1 at a sales point. The price of the card does not include any travel credit.
No. The Ühiskaart is only a data carrier — the ticket and money are on the account linked to the card. Travel rights are granted by validating the card when the account holds a valid ticket, money or an activated discount.
If the card was personalised, it can be blocked and the money on the account transferred to a new card. For a card that is not personalised, the money cannot be recovered.
Yes. Free travel is not automatic: you need a Ühiskaart (€3) that is personalised and that you validate on every boarding. Without validation, the trip counts as travelling without a ticket.
Yes. On the validator you can use the money on the card to buy up to five full-price hour tickets for companions in addition to your own. An extra ticket is valid together with the card it was bought with.
A transport day begins at 04:00 and lasts 24 hours. It determines which day your ticket purchase is counted towards and when the daily limit applies.
Lisa see leht oma lemmikutesse
Uuendame Tallinn Tram kohe, kui midagi muutub — sõiduplaani muudatused, liiklushäired, piletihindade muutused ja olulised teated. Salvesta leht ja vaata seda enne teele asumist, et sul oleks alati kõige värskem info.